Common physical complaints of primary caregivers handling non-ambulatory neurological patients in Dasmariñas, Cavite

Date of Completion

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy

Keywords

Caregivers, Physical Functional Performance, Patient Care

Abstract

This is a descriptive study aimed to determined the common physical complaints of primary caregiver handling non-ambulatory neurological patients in Dasmariñas Cavite. specifically, the study determined the socio-demographic and occupational profile of the caregiver and the common physical complaints of caregivers in the areas of musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary system. The study a self-made questionnaire as research instrument. The list of non-ambulatory neurological patients was gathered from De La Salle University Medical Center and Jose P. Rizal Memorial Medical Center to identify their primary caregiver. The respondents were surveyed either at the hospital or at their house. A total of 43 caregivers qualify as respondents of the study. The findings revealed that most (11) of the caregivers are aged of 20-29 years old. Most of them caregivers were women (23) who finished up to secondary level of education (20), 23 of the caregivers had less than 6 months of experience, and most of them (41) live with their patient and usually spends an average of 16 hours in caregiving. In conclusion, results revealed that the most common physical problem of the caregivers is fatigue. This is followed by back and spine pain and the third common physical problems of caregivers is shoulder pain. This study has identified that in the musculoskeletal area, the back and spine together with shoulder presents as the most problematic areas. Pain and stiffness is usually the complaint. In the cardiopulmonary aspects, fatigue is the most common finding. It should be taken into consideration that the presence of these symptoms may due to the fact that most of the caregivers live with their parents. In the same manner, the identified problematic areas may be attributed to the limited awareness of the caregiver on the proper handling techniques. However, it is not the objective of this study to find a correlation between the aforementioned variables.

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